Feedback From Customers Regarding Your Old Inventory

Thanks so much for coming.  I am so glad that you agreed to meet with me.  Big Hug.  I promise to keep this short and sweet.  Because I love you, I have to share with you this teeny tiny small shortcoming that is really costing you.  We have all been talking about it and know that you would want to know.”

Who is ‘we’, you ask?

‘WE’ are your raving fans, of course.  We just LOVE your store and how much you teach us and what fun we have when we come in and how great you take care of us.  It is wonderful.  And the events you have are so fun!  Keep them coming for sure.  There is just one little thing… But keep an open mind, ok?

Hear us out…

GET RID OF ALL YOUR CRAP!  You think we don’t know that you’ve had some of this stuff in here for over a year?! ARE YOU KIDDING?!  It insults our intelligence.  If we had wanted it we would have already bought it.  We didn’t want it then and no matter how much you move it around we STILL don’t want it.  You CAN’T FOOL US.  Move that stuff out!!!”

And yet there’s more…

We LOVE the new stuff!  Give us more new merchandise.  You have really good taste and we love most of what you bring in.  That is what we want more of.  OK?  We WANT to spend more money here, but need new inventory to keep us spending! We come in with our wallets out, ready, and BAM. We trip over that thing you’ve had since two summers ago and then guess what? Our wallet falls right back in our pockets!”

Here’s what to do

Take that old stuff and put it on sale! By doing this, your customers just may take another look at it.  Certainly customers who love a sale will, and customers you may have never captured before could become new clients if you promote this sale well enough. The idea is to mark old inventory down and get it sold and out of your store. Get it?

It’s painful sometimes to deal with reducing items down to dollars that may even be less than what you bought them for… but it’s sometimes necessary.  Learn more about best practices for clearance and other markdown strategies here!  Plus, since we’re on the subject of markdowns… use code SAVE50 to save for yourself right away! 

Cathy Donovan Wagner, The Retail Maven, is the founder of RETAILMavens and works with specialty, independent store owners to help them explode their profit, get better results, have more fun and get better sleep. She offers private consulting as well as group programs such as www.retailprofitacademy.com. Cathy is also a Retail Minded Advisor and contributes regularly to RetailMinded.com. You can contact Cathy directly at cathy@retailmavens.com.